Loie and I are a bit surprised at the prices she's finding for "villas" around Ostuni. We're planning on being there the second week of October: well into the off season. $800 or so for an average of 90 square meters for a week? And not the best appointed looking places we've seen in our travels, either. Is this reasonable for the area? It's 2/3 as much per square meter as we're paying in Rome, and rather more than we've seen in Brittany, southern France, Sardinia or even Tuscany.

Any suggestions, or is this more or less the norm? Thanks for any comparisons.

Our place in The Marche rents for $500 for a week in October ... and it's about 65 square meters, and we feel our rents are low. It sounds like you're getting a fair deal if it sleep 4 to 6 people.

Hi BuckyE!

I had the same impression when searching a 2-bedroom house in the Salento for my family of 4 (2 adults and 2 baby girls). Prices were extremely expensive, much more than Sicily or even Sardinia (where we finally found what we were looking for ).

Corinna

Hah. So much for "remote" and "undiscovered" Puglia. Thanks for your comments; it's good to know Loie is doing her usual great job of research. We'll just have to revise our budget a bit, I suppose.

Well, you should know by now that as soon as you see the name of a region well marketed everywhere as the hidden and undiscover part of Italy... it is most certainly not.

The best way to find undiscovered places is to look on the atlas and choose a plce you had never heard.

Puglia is really "pushed" now, a big investment, and it is certainly taking advantage of it, as everybody would do after years of depression (not that it is less depressed - and to me depressing - now if you leave the few touristy places...)